Jain 1

ASPECTS OF INDIAN DIASPORA IN THE ASEAN-PACIFIC REGION

Prakash C. Jain Jawaharlal Nehru University

This paper highlights the salient features of the Indian Diaspora in the ASEAN-Pacific region in the context of the on-going globalisation as well as historically. It briefly discusses the origins and evolution of the Indian diaspora in a dozen odd countries of the region. It is argued that the modern Indian diaspora was caused by the British colonialism in India and the region. Indians emigrated as indentured, kangani/maistry and voluntary labourers to work on rubber, rice, sugar, tea, coffee, and oil-palm plantations in various

British colonies. The Indian traders and various categories of office workers also migrated to Hong Kong, Philippines, Japan, Burma, Malaya, and Fiji. Indians in these countries have been part of the so-called “Old Indian Diaspora”. Elsewhere in the region, namely Australia, New Zealand and Thailand the Indians have been a part of the

“New Indian Diaspora” that included engineers, doctors, accountants, managers, IT professionals, etc. Migration patterns and population estimates apart, the major focus of the article however would be on impact of the Indian Diaspora on the economic development, political processes and socio-cultural affairs of the host countries. The analysis will be done in the political economy conceptual framework.

“Diaspora” means dispersal and until recently the term referred to the Jews living in different parts of the world outside Israel − their ancestral “homeland”. Of late, however, Jain 2 the purview of the term diaspora has been broadened to refer to any population group settled abroad but maintaining close links with its homeland. As such diasporas can be defined as “ethnic minority groups of migrant origins residing and acting in host countries but maintaining strong sentimental and material links with countries of origin − homelands” (Sheffer 1986).

A diaspora can be defined as an ethnic minority group of migrant origins residing and acting in host country but maintaining strong sentimental and material links with its homeland. Modern diasporas constitute trans-state triadic networks involving ethnic diasporas, their host countries and homelands, and as such they have significant ramifications for international relations and international politics, and other activities.

The ties diasporic communities maintain through visits, marriages, trade networks, transfer of technology and skills and political lobbying for homelands are some other aspects of diasporic activities.

The Global Indian Diaspora

The modern Indian Diaspora is about 200 years old – largely a creation of British colonialism in India and some other countries of Asia, Africa, Oceania and the West

Indies. Modern emigration form India was completely a British creation. It began in 1834 following the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. Labour was needed to work on the sugar plantations in the various British colonies. Without dependable supplies of labour, survival of plantations would have been extremely difficult. Consequently, the

British colonists followed the practice of Latin American and Cuban colonists who were importing Chinese indentured labour from the Portuguese settlement of Macao (Campbell,

1969). Indian labourers had already been found useful in various colonies where as slaves Jain 3 and convicted prisoners they were employed in public works – roads, harbours, offices and jails (Sandhu 1969: 132- 140; Tinker 1974: 44-46).

In India, as Kingsley Davis (1968: 99) has pointed out, “Pressure to emigrate has always been great enough to provide a stream of emigrants much larger than the actual given opportunities”. Large scale Indian emigration, however, did not take place until the establishment of British imperialism in India as well as many other parts of the world.

Burma, for example, is a case in point where Indian emigration was numerically insignificant, and only seasonal in nature until the annexation of the Irrawaddy Delta and northern territory by the British East India Company in 1852 (Andrew 1933). Pearn

(1946: 5) notes the presence of only 19 Indians in Rangoon in 1838. Similarly, Indian labour emigration to , Ceylon, Mauritius and the West Indies and petty bourgeoisie emigration to East Africa had to wait for British colonial settlement in these places. Thus Indian overseas emigration is obviously the result of the workings of British colonialism both in India and abroad which is highlighted by the fact that the vast majority of Indians migrated only to the British colonies. Only two exceptions in this regard were the Reunion Islands and Surinam – French and Dutch Colonies respectively.

The historical background against which the Indian overseas emigration was intensified was the penetration of British mercantile capitalism in Asia. In the second half of the nineteenth century, as a result of the communication revolution and the opening of the

Suez Canal the peripheral economies were fully integrated into the world capitalist system with the result that Britain earned a considerable surplus on her trade with Asia in general, and India in particular (Latham 1978: 175). Jain 4

The profits from imperial trade were invested by the British in the mines and plantations in Asia and Africa, which created a further demand for labour throughout the British

Empire. While the expanding capitalist economy in the British Empire created a great demand for labour and trading classes, in India a combination of the following factors led to the Indian exodus overseas: the distress of the small peasantry, frequent and widespread famines in the throughout the nineteenth century, the decline of the handicraft industry, and slugglish and enclavist industrialization. Excessive dependence on agriculture, seasonal unemployment, mass illiteracy and a caste- bound occupational structure, were additional contributory factors in creating a class of proletarians, a fraction of which was compelled to seek sustenance abroad. Under these circumstances, the British Indian government was readily persuaded by the imperial and other colonial governments to export Indian labour abroad.

Until the World War II Indians emigrated mainly as indentured labourers to British

Guiana, Trinidad, Surinam (then a Dutch colony), South Africa, Fiji, Mauritius and

Reunion Islands, and as kangani/maistry labourers to Burma, Malaysia, Singapore and

Sri Lanka. Indians also emigrated as traders and government employees to the East and

South African countries besides Fiji and South Africa.

Following the World War II Indian migration to the industrially advanced countries of

Europe and North America, Australia, New Zealand etc. had also begun to gain momentum. The post-war economic expansion in these countries created heavy demand for skilled labour and professionals. Simultaneously, immigration laws were also relaxed in Canada, UK and the US. This form of overseas Indian migration of skilled and educated personnel, popularly known as the “brain drain”, thus resulted in the formation Jain 5 of sizeable Indian communities in Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the US.

Since the early 1970s Indians have also been migrating in large numbers to the oil-rich

West Asian countries. There are about 5.0 million non-resident Indians working in the

Gulf countries (Jain 2007). The total strength of the Indian Diaspora is presently estimated at 30 million.

Thus historically, five distinctive patterns of Indian emigration can be identified: (1) indentured labour emigration, (2) kangani/maisry labour emigration, (3) ‘free’ or

‘passage’ emigration to East Africa, South Africa, Fiji etc, (4) ‘brain drain’ or voluntary emigration to the metropolitan countries of Europe, North America and Oceania, and (5) manpower emigration to West Asia. Whereas the first three patterns are often categorized as colonial and the resultant diasporas as “old”, the last two patterns are post-colonial that gave rise to the “new” diasporas.

The “new” Indian diasporas have clear linkages with the process of globalisation that can be defined as “the intensified and deepened cultural, economic, political and institutional interconnectedness and interdependency that has developed between corporations, communities and states, particularly since the 1970s” (Walton-Roberts 2004: 54).

Globalisation implies that there is worldwide financial, economic, technological and ecological interdependence”, and as such “goods, capital, knowledge, images, communication, crime, culture, pollutants, drugs, fashions and beliefs all readily flow across territorial boundaries” (Cohen 1999: 155). So much so that some scholars argue that globalisation is leading to the emergence of “the first global civilization” – a discrete world-order with shared values, processes and structures (Ibid). It must be pointed out here that there have been observable and countertendencies to globalization that often Jain 6 manifest themselves in the form of nationalism and sub-nationalism, racism, religious fundamentalism, sexism etc. Thus both universal and parochial tendencies are at work in the process of globalization.

Within these broad parameters it can be argued that certain aspects of globalization are particularly relevant to the study of diasporas in terms of their emergence, survival and success. Following Cohen (1999: 157) these are briefly discussed as follows: (1) A world economy with quicker and denser transactions between its sub-sectors due to better communications, cheaper transport, a new international division of labour, the activities of transnational corporations and the effects of liberal trade and capital-flow policies; (2)

Forms of international migration that emphasize contractual relationships, family visits, intermittent stays abroad and sojourning, as opposed to permanent settlement and the exclusive adoption of the citizenship of a destination country; (3) The development of

“global cities” in response to the intensification of transactions and interactions between the different segments of the world economy and their concentration in certain cities whose significance resides more in their global, rather than in their national, roles; (4)

The creation of cosmopolitan and local cultures promoting or reacting to globalization; and (5) A deterritorialization of social identity challenging the hegemonising nation- states’ claim to make an exclusive citizenship a defining focus of allegiance and fidelity in favour of overlapping, permeable and multiple forms of identification. To sum up, globalisation has not only accelerated the processes of international migration and formation of diasporas but also strengthened Diaspora-homeland linkages.

Indian Diaspora in the ASEAN-Pacific Region Jain 7

Indian cultural influence throughout Southeast Asia and parts of Pacific region predates the spread of Islam during the medieval period and the formation of the Indian diaspora in modern times. This influence which very deep can be seen in languages, literature as well as social and religious customs. Evidently, the instigators of these cultural contacts were mainly Indian traders, and to a lesser extent the scholars and religious preachers.

Needless to say, the Indian diasporas formed during the ancient and medieval periods, if any, got fully assimilated into their respective host societies. As Tinker (1977: 1-2) put it;

“Yet non of these contacts led to a distinctive Indian population overseas. Indian priests and officials married local women, and within a few generations were indistinguishable from local people. Even Bali, the most complete Hindu cultural colony, is no .

Hindu culture has been transmuted into something authentically Balinese.” Therefore this paper focuses only on the modern phase of the Indian diaspora in the region whose beginnings can be traced back to the late 18 th century or so.

Migration Patterns. The first four patterns of Indian migration abroad mentioned above are represented in the formation of the Indian diasporas in the ASEAN-Pacific region.

Thus indentured labour recruitment prevailed in Fiji and initially in Malaya,

Kangani/maistry labour recruitment systems in Malaya and Burma, and passage/free migration pattern in case of Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines and Thailand. The “new”

Indian diasporas in Australia and New Zealand, South Korea have mainly been the results of “brain Drain” type emigration from India. Needless to say, there has been considerable overlapping in these migration patterns, especially during the colonial period.

Volume and Destination . Between 1834 and 1937 about 30.0 million Indians migrated to different parts of the world, and about 24.0 million returned home during the same Jain 8 period (Jain 1990: 10). It is difficult to say with certainty as to how many Indians migrated to the ASEAN-Pacific region to date; perhaps about 10.0 million. Until 1957 about 4.2 million Indians immigrated into Malaysia (Sandhu 1969: 159), and perhaps as many into Burma. Between 1873 and 1920 about 69,000 indentured labourers were recruited for Fiji (Lal 1983) Australia and New Zealand can claim no more than half a million Indian immigrants to date, and perhaps another half a million for the rest of the countries of the ASEAN-Pacific region.

Stock of Indian Diaspora . Presently there are over 6.0 million Indians – both PIOs and

NRIs in the ASEAN-Pacific region countries. This represents about 20.0% of the total numerical strength of the global Indian diaspora. The relevant data about Indian diasporas in the region are presented in Table 1. Accordingly, Myanmar hosts the largest Indian diaspora in the region (about 3.0 million) followed by Malaysia (2.0 m), Fiji (350,000),

Singapore (330,000), Australia (250,000), New Zealand (100,000 ), Indonesia (70,000) and Hong Kong (55,000). In terms of citizenship status of the Indians in the region, it can be said that an overwhelming majority of them (88%) in the year 2001 were the citizens of their respective host country; about 3.5% held Indian citizenship, and about 8.0% were stateless. The distribution pattern of the Indian diaspora in the region vis-à-vis other regions of the world, is unique in that: (1) the proportion of stateless Indians is very high, and (2) the proportion of NRIs (that is, the Indian passport holders) is very low.

The Indian diaspora in the ASEAN-Pacific region is considerably heterogeneous. Table 2 attempts to make some sense of this heterogeneity in terms of migration patterns, period of migration, and more importantly major sub-ethnic/regional Indian groups and their occupational structure of the Indian diaspora. Parsis, , Chettiars, Punjabis, Jains Jain 9 and Gujarati have been exclusively traders and entrepreneurs. The Indian professionals have an all-India character in terms of their composition. The labouring class mainly emerged from Tamil Nadu and to a lesser extent, particularly in Fiji, from

North India.

Table No.1

Indian Diaspora in ASEAN-Pacific Region, 2001 and 2007

Country PIOs Indian Stateless Total Total (2007)

citizens (2001) Estimates

Australia 160,000 30,000 - 190,000 250,000

Brunei 500 7,000 100 7,600 10,000

Cambodia 150 150 - 300 400

Fiji 336,579 250 - 336,829 350,000

Hong Kong 28,500 22,000 - 50,500 55,000

Indonesia 50,000 5,000 - 55,000 70,000

Japan 1,000 9,000 - 10,000 11,000

Korea(DPRK) - 5 - 5 -

Korea(ROK) 200 2,500 - 2,700 3,000

Laos 18 107 - 125 150

Malaysia 1,600,000 15,000 50,000 1,665,000 1,800,000

Myanmar 2,500,000 2,000 400,000 2,902,000 3,000,000

New Zealand 50,000 5,000 - 55,000 100,000

Philippines 24,000 2,000 12,000 38,000 40,000 Jain 10

Singapore 217,000 90,000 - 307,000 330,000

Thailand 70,000 15,000 - 85,000 110,000

Vietnam - 320 - 320 500

Total 5,037,947 205,332 462,100 5,705,379 6,130,050

Source: Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India (2001: xlvii-xlx).

Table 2

Aspects of Indian Migration to Select Countries of ASEAN-Pacific Region

Country Migration Patterns Period of Major Sub- Occupational

Migration Ethnic Structure

Groups

Fiji Indenture + Passage 1879-1930 North Agriculture,

Indians, Professionals

Tamils, and others

Gujarati and

Punjabi

Malaysia Indenture + Kangani + 1786-1957 Tamils, Agriculture,

Passage Punjabis Professionals

and others

Myanmar Maistry + Passage 1852-1937 Tamils, Agriculture

Chhetiyars, and Trade

North Indians Jain 11

Singapore Free/ Passage 1871 Tamils, Professionals

onwards Malyalis and and Traders

Punjabis

Hong Kong Free/ Passage 1841- 1997 Parsis, Traders

Sindhis and

Punjabis

Japan Free/ Passage 1873- Parsis, Traders

onwards Sindhis

Philippines Free/ Passage 1792 Parsis, Traders

onwards Punjabis

Thailand Free/ Passage 1912 Sindhis, Traders

onwards Punjabis,

Jains

Australia Brain Drain Type 1960 Punjabis, Professionals

onwards Gujaratis, and others

Kannadigas

and Indo-

Fijians

New Zealand Brain Drain Type 1960 Gujaratis, Professionals

onwards Punjabis, and others

Indo-Fijians

Jain 12

Table 3

The in ASEAN-Pacific Region

Country Estimates of the Size Occupational Structure

of the Sindhi

Community

Singapore 5,000 Mostly trading

Malaysia 1,000 Mostly trading

Hong Kong 7,500 Exclusively trading

Indonesia 3,500 Exclusively trading

Philippines 4,000 Exclusively trading

Thailand 1,000 (?) Exclusively trading

Japan 1,000 (?) Exclusively trading

Taiwan 200 (?) Exclusively trading

South Korea 200 (?) Exclusively trading

Total 23,000- 25,000

Source: Marcovits (2000: 281).

Contributions of the Indian Diaspora to the ASEAN-Pacific Region

Historically Indian diaspora vitally contributed to the development to the ASEAN-Pacific region and continues to do so in its current phase of existence in the various countries.

Since modern organized diasporas constitute trans-state triadic networks involving ethnic diasporas, their host countries and homelands, they also have significant ramifications for Jain 13 international relations and international politics, and other activities. Some of the major

Indian diasporic activities in the region are briefly discussed under the economic, political and socio-cultural contributions.

Economic Development

Indian Diaspora’s contribution to the economic development of the ASEAN-Pacific region is extremely important and exemplary. This can fruitfully be discussed in terms of

Indian diaspora’s three major components, namely labour, traders and entrepreneurs, and professional-technical manpower.

Indian Labour Diaspora. As already mentioned Indian Diaspora in the region has been mainly labour diaspora in case of Malaysia for example until 1957 about two-thirds of the total Indian immigration involved labour who worked in sugar, coffee and rubber plantation. The rubber and subsequently oil-palm plantations are totally dependent on

Indian labour power. It was the Tamil labour that made Malaysia the world’s largest producer of natural rubber. Some idea of this can the had from the fact that acres under rubber had widened from about 50,000 in 1900 to 543,000 in 1911 and 3,272,000 in 1938, mainly due to the availability of Indian Kangani labour. Likewise rice plantation in

Burma owes mainly to Indian labour which constituted bulk of the Indian population in

Burma numbering more than a million in 1931. In Fiji, the Indian indentured labour has been the backbone of the sugar industry since the late 19 th century. As late as in 1976 about 39 percent of the economically active Fiji Indians were employed in agriculture

(Naidu 1989: 119). Elsewhere in the region Indians were engaged in fruit and vegetable gardening in the countryside of Wellington and Auckland during the inter-war period and in numerous factory jobs subsequently (McGee 1989: 144). A parallel situation obtained Jain 14 in Australia where most members of Punjabi farming communities of Woolgoolga worked as banana-farmers (Voigt-Graf 2003: 156).

Traders and Entrepreneurs. In modern times the role of Indian merchants in South-

East Asia particularly that of Chulia merchants and Tamilian Muslims, can be traced back to the 17 th century. Following the occupation of the island of Penang in 1786 these merchants increased “their operations, both in the tin trade as well in various commodities imported from the coast of Coromandel. It was in the opium trade, which emerged as one of the most lucrative sectors of the Indian economy after 1770, that this conjunction between British private traders and Indian merchants produced its most spectacular results” (Marcovits 2000: 14). In the opium trade mentioned above Marwaris,

Sindhis and Parsis were particularly involved.

There is perhaps no major country in Asia-Pacific where Indians have not been present either as traders or entrepreneurs. In Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines and Thailand Indian

Diaspora has primarily been involved in trade and entrepreneurship. On January 1941 when the Union Jack was hoisted at possession point, about 2,700 Indian troops and 4

Indian merchants witnessed the historic ceremony (Vaid 1989a: 146). Subsequently

Parsis, Ismailis (Bohra and Khojah) Jews and Sindhis from the sub-continent stabled their businesses in Hong Kong. The early merchants and traders particularly the Parsis played a major role in the development of Hong Kong. The Indians “started the star ferry, they owned all big hotels, ran their own ships, established Hong Kong University, brought over several banks from homeland, and were associated with the setting up of the Hong

Kong & Shanghai Bank” (Vaid 1989a: 151). Hardly constituting 4 percent of the total of

Hong Kong, total Indian companies in Hong Kong are responsible for over 10 percent of Jain 15 the colony’s total foreign trade” (Daswani 1989: 159). Like Hong Kong, the history of

Indian entrepreneurship in Japan has been dominated by Parsis and Sindhis in that order.

By 1912 “these were about 25 Indian firms in Japan mainly in Yokohama. Subsequently many Indians moved to Kobe area after an earthquake in 1923 and diversified into Tokyo for the World War II. The Indians were and continues to be in the forefront in export of

Japanese goods in Indian, Middle East and Africa. The major items involved have been electronic items, automobile parts, silk yarn and rayon garments, cotton prices goods, singlet, matting and porcelain wares (see Chandru 1989: 164-65).

Professionals and other Middle Classes. During the colonial period migration of Indian professionals as well as numerous other categories of personnels was a regular feature in major countries of South East Asia and the Pacific region. Thus in case of Malaysia a large number of administrators, supervisors, clerks, teachers, doctors, lawyers, soldiers, policemen and watchmen, etc (Sandhu 1969; Roff 1967) were recruited who manned the various sectors of the economy. The pattern was typical. In Malaysia for example different categories of workers were known by their respective nick-names. As one observer put it “with the advent of the British, the role of the Indians as catalysts took on a new direction and emphasis. A new genre of Indian immigrant – Ramasmay, the labourer, Tulsi Ram, the convict, Bhai Singh, the policemen, Maniam, the technical assistant and Pillai, the clerk – arrived in the country” (Sandhu 1989: 128). Similar situations obtained in Burma, Fiji, Hong Kong and subsequently in Australia and New

Zealand. These non-labouring middle classes were instrumental in the development of the countries of the region. During the past two decades or so new generations of Indian professionals are evident in the region. They include personnel in banking and finance Jain 16 sectors as well as information technology. Others work for various UN bodies, multinational companies, research establishments and NGOs.

It would not be out of place here to mention the presence of the sizeable community of

Indian students particularly in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, who are regarded as “semi-finished human capital” and “potential migrants”. As visiting trade minister of

New Zealand Jim Sutton had put it in India in 2000; “finished degree in New Zealand, land a job, move on to residency and then took citizenship”. Since April, 2008 Indian students in Australia can work twenty hours per week while studying. Vast majority of theses students belong to Information Technology, Engineering, Basic Sciences,

Management, Medicine and other professional courses.

Among the historic roles played by the Indian soldiers, for example, two events need special mention here. Both are related to the British conquests in the region. In January

1841 Hong Kong was conquered by the British with the help of 2,700 Indian troops (Vaid

1989a: 146). Similarly, the British expeditionary force that occupied the Philippines in

1762 included a contingent of over 600 Indian sepoys and 1,400 labourers who were mostly recruited from among the subjects of Nawab of Arcot in South India (Rye 1989:

136). The “Madrasis”, who constituted about half of the total British expeditionary force,

“were a curious mixture of “mercenaries” and “indentured” labour. Following the lifting of the British occupation of Manila a sizeable number of them stayed back in Philippines and subsequently settled down in different parts of Luzon, especially in the small town of

Cainta. They were nicknamed “Bombays” – a name that subsequently was extended to

Indian sailors, Indian immigrants and to the Indians in general in the Philippines (Rye

1989: 139). Jain 17

Political Contribution

Indian diaspora have played significant role in political development of various countries of the ASEAN-Pacific region, particularly in Fiji, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Their numerical strength in Fiji permitted them to play the fullest possible role resulting eventually in Mahendra Choudhary becoming the Prime Minister of the country. It was not easy given the historical machinations of the colonial government and their implications for post-colonial political developments. In Fiji as also in Malaysia,

Singapore and Burma the first political awakening among the Indians during the inter- war period had begun to crystallize due to their desire to remedy their skewed positions in their respective countries’ civic and political lives. Not surprisingly, political developments among Indians were accompanied by strong trade union movements (Jain

1988; 1990).

Indian diaspora in the ASEAN-Pacific region had been in the forefront of the anti- colonial movements. The activities of Indian National Army (INA) raised by the Indian leader and freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose was an eloquent testimony to this phenomenon in which overseas , Malaysia, Singapore and Burma vigorously participated not only by getting recruited in the Army but also by raising funds in cash and kind (jewellery). So much so that a women army brigade named after the famous patriot queen of Jhansi, Rani Laxmi Bai, fought valiantly along with their male counterpart for getting rid of British colonialism in India. As pointed out by

Marcovits (2007: 267), Indian nationalists in India thought of activities of INA and other such movements as “dispersed fragments of a great Indian nation-in-the-making who had their role to play in the struggle for freedom”. Jain 18

India had not only been in the forefront of anti-colonial movement that inspired a large number of countries in Asia and Africa, since independence she has also been a role model for most Third World countries for practising democracy. This is more so given that the American democracy is today increasingly suspect in the eyes of the world. In spite of a number of weaknesses in Indian democracy, namely, “tenacious poverty and inequality, troubling levels of political violence and criminality in some states, and a fragmented political party system that makes it difficult to take decisions” (Dimond

2007), the members of the Indian diaspora feel proud of their political system back home and collectively try their best to bring about democratic culture in their respective host countries. Diasporas require democracy in order to survive and maintain their distinct identities. Conversely, lost diasporas can sometimes be revived in a democratic political environment.

The recent political protest in November 2007 needs to be seen in this context in which more than 20,000 ethnic Indians demonstrated in Kuala Lumpur demanding equality and fair treatments for Indians, who constitute about 8 percent of Malaysia’s 27 million population. The New Economic Policy being practised by the state in favour of Malay

Bhumiputeras (sons of the soil) since 1970 favours Malays at the expense of Indian and

Chinese minorities and breeds ethnic/racial discrimination (Jain, 1990: 94-134; Stenson

1980). Political developments in Fiji during the post-independence period have caused a large number of Indians to emigrate to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and elsewhere.

From Burma/Myanmar thousands of Indians had not only been expelled in 1937 and again in 1964, about half a million of them have been rendered stateless. The remaining

Indians, over 2.5 million have increasingly been subjected to Burmese assimilation. Jain 19

Reports coming out from Myanmar about Indians’ socio-economic and political conditions is pathetic, to say the least.

Most diasporas being in minority often serve as vigilante against human rights violations in various countries. In fact it is in their self interest to promote and support human rights norms in their host countries. Fortunately several international organisations such as the

United Nations, International Labour Organisation, World Trade Organisation etc. today are with them in bringing about just and equitable socio-political order the world over. In this context the role of local civil societies is equally important.

Socio-Cultural Contribution

We already noted that cultural influence of India on most of South-East Asia and that part of Pacific region which is generally known as “far East”; perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that India and Asia-Pacific region had a great civilisational dialogue during the ancient and medival period. Following the establishment of Indian diaspora in modern times this influence has now said to have been extended to practically the whole region.

Whereas the earlier influence was very deep mainly emanating from Buddism as well as

Hinduism, the contemporary influences directly associated with Indian diasporic communities and sub-communities (see to multiculturalism) etc. this is to say that Indian diaspora in Asia-Pacific region has historically contributed to the formation of heterogeneous and/or “plural societies” – a trend that is growing worldwide with the accelerated pace of migration and globalization in the past few decades. Malaysia,

Singapore, Fiji, Hong Kong, Thailand and Australia and New Zealand have been culturally enriched by the presence of Indians in these countries. The major cities in Jain 20

ASEAN-Pacific region owe their cosmopolitanism to a considerable extent to the Indian diaspora.

Indian diasporas in the ASEAN-Pacific region can be credited to have brought with them an alternative lifestyle typically emanating from Indian culture and civilization. Apart from moderate, tolerant and liberal value system, ethnic Indians cuisines (both south and north Indian, particularly tandoori items), homeopathic and ayrvedic therapies and medicines and various yoga and medicinal systems are being increasingly adopted by the population at large. Last but not the least, the Bollywood and other Indian films have been giving a tough competition to local as well as Hollywood films. Ethnic Indian television, radio and print media have also been a contributing factor to the cause of multiculturalism in the ASEAN-Pacific region.

The major countries in the ASEAN-Pacific region have been multi-ethnic/multi-racial societies. Ethnic/racial inequalities and discrimination have therefore always been contentious issues in such plural societies. Colonial rulers’ divide and rule policy had created racially fractured societies, post-colonial authoritarian regimes and democratic politics have tended to perpetuate them. Fiji and Malaysia are two examples of such societies where Indians have been at the receiving ends.

In spite of somewhat difficult race relations situations of Indian diaspora in some

ASEAN-Pacific countries, the Indian government has been following a policy of non- alignment and non-interference in the internal matters of other countries. In fact in recent years the economic cooperation between India and ASEAN countries is on the rise. Talks have been going on for signing a free-trade agreement between Indian Government and

ASAEN authorities. One sub-regional initiative, that is, Bangladesh-India-Myanmar- Sri Jain 21

Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) has also complimented India-

ASEAN regional economic cooperation – forming a bridge between SAARC and

ASEAN (Khadaria 2006). With the most countries of the Pacific region India has equally good economic and political relations. The proposed London-New Delhi-Bangkok highway, India’s “Look East Policy” are further likely to intensify these relations.

Diaspora-Homeland and Inter-Diaspora Linkages

All diasporas by definition maintains close relations with their homeland. These relations encompasses wide gamut of activities: business networking, remittances, political lobbying, marriage relations, pilgrimages, tourism, socio-cultural exchange programmes etc. Inter-diaspora relations also encompass all such activities giving rise to trans- nationalism, which broadly refers to sustained ties of persons, networks and organisations across nation state borders rising out of international migration and refugee flows.

Globalisation and new information technologies and communication have served as catalysts in promoting new transnational kinship groups, transnational social circuits and transnational communities. Indian diaspora is no exception in this regard. In which case a number of Indian sub-diasporas based on region and language, religion and even caste have been formed in different parts of the world (Sahoo 2006). Thus we have Hindu,

Sikh, Jain, Gujarati, Tamil, Sindhi and Dalit diasporas (Barrier 1990; Marcovits 2000;

Jain 2008; Vertovec 2000). They have their own global diasporic networking.

Transnational organisations such “Global Origin of People of Indian Origin” (GOPIO) have emerged to preserve and promote their identities and cultures uniting India and the

Indian diaspora in a transnational context. Conceptually speaking, both diaspora- Jain 22 homeland and inter-diaspora linkages have been consolidated horizontally as well as vertically.

In ASEAN-Pacific region both pan-Indian and sub-ethnic diasporas are actively involved in various activities directed at India and among themselves. Thus, Indian diasporas in

Malaysia, Singapore and Fiji are very active members of GOPIO which is a non-partisan non-secterian global organisation engaged in promoting well being of non-resident

Indians and people of Indian origin, enhancing cooperation and communication between groups of Indians living in different countries and in furthering their cooperation with

India. through GOPIO as well as independently Indian diasporic communities have been the active participants in Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (overseas Indian Day) celebrated in

India on 9 th of January each year since 2003.

Regional Indian diasporas in ASEAN-Pacific region are similarly well integrated in terms of transnationalism as well as in relation to their maotherland. One can mention here

Tamil, Malayali, Sikh/Punjabi, Sindhi and Jain diasporas. In the case of Sindhi diaspora in the region – small one that constituted about 25,000 individuals in 2001 (table 3), is particularly illustrative here. The Sindhi diaspora and exclusively a trader diaspora has been in ASEAN-Pacific region since the middle of the 19 th century. It is extremely well integrated not only within the region but also with their counterparts around the world, particularly in India and the Gulf countries. Sindhis are mainly general merchandise, food stuffs, textile and electronic goods trade. Sindhis in the region procure textile and electronic goods mainly from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia through their diasporic network and traded them on to Dubai and India for distribution in Middle

East, Africa, Central Asia, Russia and Eastern Europe (See Buxani 2003). Hong Kong Jain 23 has particularly emerged as a major center of Sindhi socio-cultural, literary and intellectual activities. A magazine “Indian Opinion” is published from here and several kinds of awards have been instituted in order to Sindhi pride worldwide.

Business networking apart, transnationalism among Indians can also be seen in religious and socio-cultural activities in ASEAN-Pacific region. A number of Indian religious sects, such as Swaminarayan, Chinmaya Mission, Ramakrishna Mission, Bramha Kumaris,

International society for Krishna consciousness etc. have extensive global networking.

Similarly, Indian festivals like Deepawali, Holi, Dushehra, Shivaratri, Thai Poosam etc. have acquired universal status among Indian diasporas. Indian diasporic writings too are part of not only local or regional literature but also of Indian and the world literatures.

Diaspora Philanthropy and Development in India. Philanthropy can be defined as private giving for public purposes. The need for diaspora philanthropy emerges from the sentimental attachments the individuals have for their homeland – the “long distance nationalism”. “Transfer to countries of origin may include goods and services, investments, and remittances as well as intangible aspects such as knowledge, contacts, and values. These flows are not necessarily mutually exclusive nor collectively exhaustive” (Merz, et. al. 2007: 3).

In case of India it has been found in a number of studies that (i) philanthropic activities are channeled through professional, regional (based on region of origin) and religious organisations, and (ii) that philanthropic giving is mainly directed to development related causes in India, specially in fields such as health and education (Kumar 2003;

Manivannan 2006). Jain 24

Economic development in India has significantly been affected over the years by the

Indian diaspora through the remittances and transfer of knowledge and skills. In 2001,

India received foreign remittances to the tune of $9.0 billion, that amounted to about 2.0 percent of its GDP. In 2005, the remittances figure rose to $21.7 billon and in 2007 to about $27.0 billion – bulk of this coming from the Persian Gulf countries, North America and Europe. Unfortunately, there are no separate data available to know as to how much remittances came from ASEAN-Pacific region.

Concluding Remarks

India’s relations with the Southeast Asia-Pacific region vis-a-vis other regions of the world have been not only the oldest but also the most impressive and deep. The legacies of and Buddhism have left indelible marks throughout the region. Even in some countries where subsequently Islam became the state religion the earlier cultural legacies could not be obliterated. This kind of influence however was mainly cultural and not Diasporic in contemporary sense of the term. The Indian diasporic presence in the region that began sometime in the 17 th century however has added altogether new dimension to the countries of the region – elements of social and cultural pluralism.

About six million strong Indian diaspora in the ASEAN-Pacific region consists of sizable minorities in Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore and Fiji, and very small ones in rest of the countries of the region. However, the political situation in Myanmar has reduced the existence of the Indian diaspora there to that of historical/archival significance only as pressure to assimilate has been intense for several decades now. More than half a million stateless Indians is another problematic area for the government of India that has recently Jain 25 started a dialogue with the Myanmar authorities. Thus, the effective strength of the Indian diaspora in the ASEAN-Pacific region has been reduced to only about 3.0 million.

As “auxiliary” minorities the old Indian diaspora contributed substantially to the economic and socio-political developments of the region. Just as the labouring and non- labouring Indian emigrants vitally fulfilled the economic needs of the British colonialism in south-east Asia, under the change circumstances the new Indian diaspora consisting of varied professionals is likewise engaged in activities that have been enriching the countries of the region economically and otherwise. With liberal emigration policy pursued by the Government of India since 2001, the new diaspora is likely to increase numerically in future.

Diaspora by definition is a trans-border phenomenon. The increased pace of globalisation and trans-nationalism have caused diasporas to integrate themselves horizontally as well as vertically with their respective homelands. In coming years, the world over not only more and more new diasporas would emerge and get consolidated but the older diasporas would also get strengthen giving rise to multiculturalism, cosmopolitanism, and politics permitting, to a global society and global civilization.

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